Flowers for Mama
by The Two angelgirls
Summary: The angels are sent to a run down town to help a young girl through life. Rating for violence, mild lanuage, and drug abuse. Please R/R!


Title: Flowers for Mama

Authors: Justine Benoit and Megan Baker

Disclaimer: Monica, Andrew, Tess, and Gloria belong to Martha Williamson, CBS productions, and Moonwater productions. All other characters belong to Justine and Megan. 

Rating: PG for violence, mild language, and some drug content

*Prologue: Free Will*

All it took was a gunshot—just one simple pull of the trigger. That's how it happens each time, no one even paying attention to it. Well, at least that's how it was in this small town where the alleys were lined with gangs and the main roads were even worst. A gun backfiring was like music to someone's ears. You became used to it. After all, it happened way more than once a day.

Hillary was used to it. Even at the age of fourteen you got involved with the wrong kind of crowd. But that's exactly what Hillary was trying _not_ to do. 

She had been raised in a Christian home. Her family used to attend church services regular. She even went to Bible study every Wednesday night. Her parents were missionaries before she was born. But when her mother gave birth to four children, it just was too much to be traveling constantly. So then why had they settled here where Christianity wasn't even heard of? You would be killed in an instant if you talked about or just mentioned God. God was nothing. He was out of the question. 

Was it because they were ignoring Him that all of this was happening? Had He set this town under some sort of curse? It sure seemed like it. And as Hillary stood solid still, she couldn't feel Him anywhere. He wasn't in the wind, the air around her, or in the presence of that very moment.

"You know, Tess, sometimes I wish humans didn't have free will," Monica told her supervisor in her gentle Irish lilt. 

"They sure do abuse the privilege, don't they, Angel Girl?" Tess said, then with a shake of her head added, "But without free will…"

"Yes, I know. They wouldn't have the choice to love," the Irish angel interrupted.

"Love is such an important part of most people's lives. Why can't they see that here?" Gloria asked, pulling her fleece coat more tightly around her. Her breath showed in the brisk air. 

"Well, baby, this town is full of so much hatred, I don't see how any love can get in," Tess explained with a wince as her big brown eyes observed the scene in front of her.

Next to the three women, Andrew pulled out his gold pocket watch with his name engraved inside. He opened it and sighed.

"I have to go," he announced, putting a hand on his supervisor's shoulder. "But I'll be back shortly." Tess nodded in understanding.

"This wasn't planned to happen, was it?" Gloria asked, pushing her glasses up from her nose where they had fallen to.

"No, Gloria, it wasn't," Monica replied softly. They both looked at the eldest angel.

"Free will," was all that she said, then crossed her arms and shivered.

"So what's our assignment, Tess?" Monica asked her supervisor, her Irish accent shaking from the cold.

"Angel Babies, this next one is going to be tough. It's the kind where you have to get very close to your assignments, only to see them…well, only to see them go."

"What to you mean, go?" Gloria asked in a confused tone.

"Little Angel," Tess began. "You see that girl over there?" She pointed her dark finger towards a few teenagers who stood against an old brick building. Gloria nodded. "That's Nikki. She's your assignment."

"I can see why she needs an angel," the youngest angel said abruptly. She observed the teenager. She looked about in her late teens or early twenties. Her golden locks were highlighted with jet-black streaks and she was dressed in a black leather jacket and black ragged jeans that had holes in the knees. She was smoking a cigarette and listening to headphones. Next to her were three other boys and one other girl who were also smoking.

"Gloria, you're going to have to help her with her inward problems, not her outer. Though I can admit she needs a little help with her wardrobe," Tess said gritting her teeth and turning away.

"That sounds like the kind of assignment I usually get, Tess," the Irish angel said.

"The Father has different plans for you this time, Angel Girl. You're assignment is over there." She motioned towards a young girl who stood still as could be. 

"The poor little thing," Monica said in a sympathetic voice. "She must be terrified."

"Oh, no, baby, she's used to these kind of things. This is her backyard. This happens maybe five times a day," Tess explained.

"Doesn't she have a mother or father?" Gloria asked.

"Oh, yes, she's got both," the supervisor answered. "But not for long."

"What do you mean, Tess?" Monica asked in her Irish lilt.

"Glad to have you back, Angel Boy," Tess said, noticing that the angel of death had returned from his latest assignment.

"No, Tess, no," Monica said, glancing from Andrew back to her supervisor. "You don't mean…"

"Angel Babies, this is a very hard time for Hillary and her siblings—probably the hardest time she's ever gone through." Tess shook her head. "And the girl is only fourteen years old."

"She's gone through so much," Andrew said, his green eyes filled with hurt. 

"And there's much more to come," the eldest angel announced, wincing again at the sight before them. 

A young girl kneeled down and touched the cheek of a black boy about the same age as her. As she did, a strand of her lustrous golden locks fell from behind her ear. Her face was smudged with dirt and her skin was bruised. 

"Oh, Timothy," she whispered. "I was praying so hard that God wouldn't let this happen. She touched his bloody chest where the bullet had pierced. "I really did. I guess you were right, God probably doesn't care about us anymore. Why should He? We don't deserve it." A few tears rolled down her pale cheeks. She set her knee on the damp ground and cried lightly. "I love you," she whispered.

"Angel Babies, it's time. Go now before all of the incidents that shouldn't take place today do." Tess motioned towards the crying girl and looked at Monica who nodded. She then looked at Gloria who also nodded.

"My assignment is yet to be announced," Andrew told his supervisor quietly. In the mean time, the Father has work for me elsewhere. But I will meet up with Gloria and Monica later." The three women nodded.

"Each of you must bring your part of this big jig saw puzzle together into one. Fit the pieces into the right place and then let the Almighty perform the rest," Tess instructed.

"What's the rest of it, Tess?" Gloria asked in her sweet tone. 

"Only He knows, Little Angel. Now, go!" Tess answered, squeezing the youngest angel's hand. Gloria smiled and nodded in agreement. 

"What will you be doing, Tess?" Monica asked her supervisor. 

"Don't worry about me, Angel Girl. I've also got part of this puzzle." Tess smiled.

Monica crept up behind the crying girl who yet rested her hand upon the dead boy's chest. The Irish angel was instructed not to go into human form until the time was right—whenever that time was.

"Hillary, I thought I told you to come straight home after school!" a gruff voice hollered through a window. The girl looked up and quickly wiped her tears away from her blue eyes. A man held up his fist and shouted through the apartment right above her. "You get in here, you punk, before I beat you!" he demanded. 

Hillary quickly stood up and brushed her torn clothes off. She walked a little ways and then hesitated. Abruptly, she looked back and gazed at the black boy who lay motionless on the ground.

"I'll come back for you, Timothy. You're going to get a proper grave. I don't care if you're black. You still deserve to be buried in the cemetery," she muttered under her breath.

"Hillary!" the man's voice hollered again. "I mean it, you little…"

"I'm coming!" she dared to scream back. He threw a beer bottle out the window that landed with a crash. She rolled her foggy blue eyes and did her best to run as fast as she could. 

She didn't know that closely behind her, Monica was following, turning away every trap that the devil unleashed at the poor girl, whose faith was indeed being shaken at the moment. 

The Irish angel wasn't yet in human form, but she guessed that her time was coming soon—in this case, it was much closer than she would expect.


End file.
